Maternity girdle



R O T N E v m I? w m n ATTORNEY- United States Patent MATERNITY GlRDLE Salimi N. Beder, Brooklyn, NY. Application February 5, 1958, Serial No. 713,445 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-558) This invention relates to a maternity girdle. It is an object of this invention to provide a means for supporting a fetus within a woman which will transmit the weight of the fetus to the hip bones, whereby it may be carried by the bony structure of the body without a bending strain upon the back, and without constraining the waist.

It has heretofore been customary to provide girdles for pregnant women having supporting bands around the waist, to which are attached a band or girdle member extending downwardly over the abdomen, but such garments strain and tire the back and are uncomfortable around the hips. It is an object of this invention to give free and adequate support without those discomforts.

This invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of the new girdle extended;

Figure 2 shows the application of the invention to the hip and abdoment of a Womans body as viewed from the side;

Figure 3 is a similar view as seen from the front;

Figure 4 is a horizontal view of the girdle as it would be when closed about the womans body, and

Figures 5 and 6 show the method by which the girdle is adapted to various stages of the growth of the fetus.

As disclosed, the invention comprises generally a front portion 10 adapted to conform to the lower front portions of the abdomen of a pregnant woman, and to this end the lower edge 11 curves downwardly toward the center. The upper edge is substantially horizontal and at the level of the navel. At each side of the portion 10 and extending backward therefrom are portions 12 and 13, having lateral elasticity to give extensibility to the garment.

The back portion of the garment is of elastic material, as shown at 14, the ends of which are joined respectively to the outer ends of elastic members 12 and 13 by means of non-extensible sections 15 and 16. The garment is shaped to fit around the body over the hip bones and all below the waist of the wearer; and because of the shap-' ing of the parts it cannot slip upwardly to encircle the waist. To this end it will be noted that the lower contour of the front panel 10 is so shaped that in the seated position of the wearer it will extend down over the lower abdomen at the crotch without being pushed upwardly by the horizontal position of the legs.

The garment is opened at any convenient point; as here shown, at one side of the front panel 11, where it joins the section 13.

Since the garment conforms to the shape of the body around the hip bones, the strains imposed by the garment are transmitted to the hip bones directly, and they are imposed upon the bones by the elastic sections 12 and 13.

Since, moreover, these apply to the hip bones at a point where they are substantially vertical, there is no tendency of the garment to slip upwardly at the waist.

The construction allows the garment to conform more easily to the body because the back portion of the garment extending from the section 12 to the section 13 is composed of the three portions 14, 1-5 and 16, and be cause 15 and 16 are inelastic, whereas the middle of the back section is of transversely elastic material.

In order to permit the garment to be adjusted to the growth of the fetus, I prefer to make the section 15 and 16in a special manner by doubling them along a vertical line inwardly upon themselves as shown at 17-18, and securing them by sewing them into a plurality of seams, 19, 20 and 21, spaced apart.

In this manner the garment may be worn by the woman during the early stages of pregnancy, and when it gets too tight, with the growth of the fetus, the seam 19 may be opened, and as the fetus grows further the seams 20 and 21 may be successively opened, thereby taking care of the entire period of gestation.

In order to maintain the contour of the front panel 10 I provide bones 22 which assist in holding the panel flat over the belly, but these bones do not extend to the lower edge of the panel but terminate at an intermediate point as shown at 23 to avoid discomfort to the wearer while seated. The front panel is dished outwardly to conform to the surface of the abdomen. This may be done in the conventional manner by seams 24.

This garment may be put on by a woman during the early stages of pregnancy, at the beginning of the swelling of theb ody, and may be continuously worn until the child is ready for birth, by merely opening the seams at 19, 20 and 21, and at all stages of the development the strain is taken by the bony structure of the body without putting it on the back.

What I claim:

1. A maternity girdle, comprising an inelastic panel conforming to the shape of the lower abdomen between the hip bones and from a point above the crotch to a point above the navel, a pair of vertically extending laterally elastic bands, one attached to each side of said panel, extending to the middle of the side of the wearer, a laterally elastic back panel extending across the flat section of the back but not quite to the outwardly projecting portion of the ilium, and a side pair of inelastic panels each extending around the ilium and having their ends attached to the free edges of each of said elastic panels, said back panel and said inelastic panels extending vertically substantially from a point above the line of the navel to the lower edge of said front panel.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1, in which folded seams are provided in the side inelastic panels to permit the girdle to be adjusted to the growth of the foetus.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,593,140 Reynolds July 20, 1926 1,738,158 Ulman Dec. 3, 1929 2,409,601 Truesdell Oct. 15, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 634,918 France Dec. 10, 1927 

